Real Madrid star forward Karim Benzema has been arrested in Paris after he was accused of "blackmailing" France midfielder Mathieu Valbuena over an alleged sex tape.
According to the Associated Press, Benzema was put into custody on Wednesday after being summoned to the Versailles police station in Paris.
A police official confirmed to the news agency that an investigation is under way.
The police are trying to find out whether Benzema actually tried to blackmail his compatriot, and whether he played a role in the extortion attempt targetting Valbuena.
Benzema's lawyer, Sylvain Cormier, was not immediately available for a comment on the same.
It is believed that the matter relates to a investigation opened in July earlier this year over claims that Valbuena, who plays for Lyon, was asked for money by three men, claiming to be in possession of a sex tape involving the player.
And the blackmailers were looking for money from him in return for the tape not being published.
Former France international Djibril Cisse was also briefly detained over the same case last month after being suspected to be a part of this conspiracy. "I have nothing to do with it, Mathieu is a friend of mine," Cisse had said during an interview on French chat show Touche pas a mon poste.
"I just warned him that there was something hot going on involving him. That's it. End of story. Frankly, it's not funny. It's something that could have been very bad for me and for him," the ex-Liverpool striker mentioned.
